June 13, 2010

Iowa's State Flower:

I wanted to bring notice this week to Iowa's State flower- the Wild Rose- to those folks that don't have time or the ability to get out and drive around northwest Iowa. I have admired the tenacity of these beautiful little guys for years. They seem to have the ability to grow in some of the toughest conditions (for instance- along road ditches) and each year they put on a show for us that lasts for about two weeks. I picked one today for my grand daughter Grace and she thought they smelled wonderful- and she's right, just like the store bought variety. The show for this year is almost over so if you can find time- stop and smell the roses (sorry- couldn't pass that up).

Another pleasant surprise this week is the emergence if the coneflower's. I have been waiting for these guys to pop up and for me this is the official start of summer- that and the ticks that found me. Along side the many coneflower's I found today were also several black-eyed susan's just starting to show their little heads.This last image I'm inserting is for my grand daughter Grace-as we were all walking thru the park at Lost Island this afternoon I spotted this American Toad resting in the crotch of a big oak tree. Grace had never seen such a large toad before and was quite impressed, so as I didn't happen to have my camera along I went back two hours later and he was still in the same area so this ones's for Grace

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That's all for this week, thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

Comments

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Indeed, Summer is here and we have seen the evidence of these bloomers in our little prairie patch as well, which your pictures so beautifully capture. But I sure like the toad and its connection to your granddaughter. Children sure help us see the world anew!

and so it came about that in college I was unjustlyaccused of being a politician, because I was privy to thesecret griefs of wild, unknown men. Most of the confidenceswere unsought—frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation,or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakablesign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon; for the intimate revelations of young men, or at least the terms in which they express them, are usually plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions.

and so it came about that in college I was unjustlyaccused of being a politician, because I was privy to thesecret griefs of wild, unknown men. Most of the confidenceswere unsought—frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation,or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakablesign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon; for the intimate revelations of young men, or at least the terms in which they express them, are usually plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions.

That is one wicked toad, I am in complete agreement with Heather on that one. I've never had the pleasure of visiting Iowa, other than just passing through on a long cross-country trip, but I would like to someday. It looks very beautiful and like a place I would just be in paradise.

Thanks for sharing these cool pictures, I especially liked the two pictures of the Iowa state flowers, I linked to you in a blog post, just a moment ago.

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